


Orion's Belt

by Persephoneandherhades



Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: #pretty much fluff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-04-01
Updated: 2017-04-01
Packaged: 2018-10-13 12:44:57
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,057
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10514034
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Persephoneandherhades/pseuds/Persephoneandherhades
Summary: Here, kitty kitty.





	

The end of the weekly patrol found Ladybug and Chat Noir laying on top of the Eiffel Tower with their cell phones out staring at the sky.

"According to my app, Orion's Belt is right there." Ladybug pointed up to a spot slightly to the left of where they lay. 

"My app says its right _there_." Chat Noir pointed slightly to the right. The two bickered back and forth about it for a few minutes before Ladybug threw up her hands.

"We can't even see the stars! For all we know, Orion's Belt could be way over there!" She gestured far to the North before letting her hands fall back down beside her. 

Ladybug and Chat Noir spent most nights this way. They had been saving Paris together for three years. Parisians were used to seeing the pair leaping across rooftops and swooping in for serious, and not so serious reasons. You were just as likely to see Ladybug lassoing an akuma with her yoyo as you were to see her joining some young kids in a game of tag in the park where the hero's statue kept watch. Chat Noir was fond of photobombing tourists and locals alike. There was an entire page of the Ladyblog dedicated to those pictures. They both had twitter and Instagram accounts and were followed avidly by most of Paris. 

Other things had changed as well. With age came experience. In their case, that meant that they had fewer close calls when transforming and they were experts at manipulating the facts just a tad to help keep their secrets. With this came security and confidence. It was nights like this, when Ladybug was reminded of where they began, that she thought maybe, just maybe, it wouldn't be so bad if...

But they had promised as children, and neither could deny that it was safer this way. It was safer if they didn't know each other's identities. But...

"Chat?" Ladybug asked after several moments of silence.

"Yeah?" His reply sounded sleepy. They would need to head home soon.

"Do you ever wonder who I am?" The words seemed to jolt him a little.

"You're Ladybug. You're my best friend. You are the wonderful, and stunningly beautiful hero of Paris. I've known you for years. I don't have to wonder." His flirty reply had her cheeks warming. She elbowed him in the side and he chuckled.

"I meant under the mask, doofus."

"My lady, I'm afraid I don't understand the question. The only difference between Ladybug and the girl under the mask is, well, the mask. You're still Ladybug even without your spots, you just go by a different name." The words set a little knot in her stomach rolling around. The same knot that had been slowly growing, making her notice her cat just a bit more...

"How do you know, huh? I could be completely different. I could be clumsy, insecure, shy, and boring. I could be mean." She felt her good mood dropping a little as the words left her. She sat up and hugged her knees, staring out at the city lights. Chat Noir sat up as well, turning to face her. There was moment of silence before he spoke. 

"What if I already know that girl? What if I know your name?"

It was like the city held its breath, waiting for the words to soak in. When she finally understood them, she whipped her head around to face him, gaping.

"It was an accident, I swear." He rushed to explain. "The thought just popped into my head like hey she's a lot like Ladybug, and then I could just see it, and then I was watching for it, and quite honestly, I don’t know how I didn't figure it out sooner.... Marinette."

She gasped when he said her name. She searched his face looking for something familiar. He knew her.

"Do I know you, Chat?" The words hung in the air and he winced. He rubbed the of his neck a little guiltily. 

"Sort of? I don't act the same as civilian me as I do when I'm Chat Noir. I'm not surprised you never figured it out. Though, I kept hoping you would." The wistful look in his eyes had her looking away. The knot in her stomach tightened as she imagined Chat Noir trying and failing to catch her attention. 

"How long have you known?" 

"About a year."

"Oh, Kitty, why didn't you tell me?" She scooted closer and leaned her head on his shoulder. His arm went around her shoulder while he chose his words.

"I wasn't sure how you would react," he started hesitantly. "You've never expressed a want to know before now. I thought you might be mad. I guess now I can tell you though. My name is-" He was cut off as Ladybug jumped up and shoved her hands over his mouth.

"No! Don't tell me! It's not fair!" She could see the hurt building in his eyes as well as the blush rising to his cheeks. It was then that she realized that she was practically straddling his lap. Heat washed her cheeks as well but she remained where she was. "You can't tell me. It's not fair that you had to find me, so to call it even, I have to find you. Starting now, I am going to be looking at all the dorky blonde's that I know trying to find you, so you can't spoil it by telling me." The hurt washed out of his eyes and he looked excited. "Promise not to tell until I guess?" Ladybug held up one hand, pinky out. Chat eagerly linked his pinky with hers. Ladybug stood up and stepped away. Chat eagerly bounced to his feet.

"Will you really look for me?"

"Of course. I can't have you one upping me. Now that I know to look it'll be easy. Except...." She pondered his words earlier. He didn't usually act like Chat Noir, not his civilian self anyway. That could be a problem. "Help me out here, why don't you act like Chat Noir when you're a civilian? Other than being obscenely silly, there's nothing wrong with it."

"I've, sort of, always been expected to act a certain way. Some of that pressure is gone now that I'm older, but by now its habit to be reserved." Chat looked a little apologetic as he said this, and Ladybug made her decision.

"Then I have a challenge for you. Until I find you, I want you to act like Chat Noir all the time, bad puns included." He looked so happy when she said this, that she couldn't help leaning in and, before she could think better of it, placing a brief kiss on his lips. 

Pulling back slightly, she studied his face. He looked like he might explode. The knot in her stomach gave a lurch and she found she couldn't pull away far enough to drop her hands off of his shoulders. Her eyes were fixed on his. Slowly, he raised his hands to rest on her waist, the contact making her breathing hitch. 

"Do you think you can do that for me, Kitty?" She whispered the words. He seemed to search her face before he spoke.

"Are you sure that's what you want?" He spoke the words low, and she knew he meant more than just behaving like Chat Noir. He meant her hands resting on his shoulders, his on her waist. He meant how close they were standing. He meant the kiss. He meant him; was she sure she wanted him.

Ladybug tugged him closer and wrapped her arms around his neck. 

"I think this is something I've wanted for a while; I just needed an excuse." She rose up on her toes and leaned in closer, nose just barely brushing his. "I want this, as long as you want it too." She paused, waiting.

Chat Noir was the one to breach the distance. He pulled her in and pressed his lips to hers. It was not the brief peck she had given him before. This was a real kiss, full of hope and promise. It was Ladybug telling him, I'm going to find you. It was Chat Noir's reply, I can't wait. 

 

Marinette spent most of the next morning, a Saturday, making a list of all the blonde boys she knew that she thought could possibly be Chat Noir. She wasn't sure if his eyes were actually green or if that was just the Miraculous, so it was especially hard. 

Her room had changed over the years. Most of her pictures of Adrien’s had been replaced with group photos with all their friends. Her relationship with him had changed as well. Long gone were the days of stammering and nonsense sentences, they had become very good friends. Ahern crush had not gone away, but it was no longer all consuming. In its wake, Chat Noir had snuck in and claimed her heart before she even saw it coming. 

Marinette was in the process of banging her head on her desk in frustration when Alya called. Ever grateful for the distraction, she answered.

"Alya, distract me, calculous is kicking my ass."

"Girl, you gotta get down here! Nino, Adrien and I are all at the ice cream parlor down the street and-" an explosion of laughter in the background muffled her words. "-you have to hear this! Come join us, you won't regret it!"

Marinette laughed and grabbed her purse motioning Tikki into it. She started heading downstairs while she talked.

"Alright, I'm coming. I don’t know what all the fuss is about, it's just ice cream."

"She's coming!" Alya announced jovially. Marinette heard cheering.

"I'll be there in a few minutes, order me my favorite!"

"Will do!"

Marinette called a quick goodbye to her parents in the bakery, then set out down the street. She found herself watching the other pedestrians. Every time she saw a blonde boy, she found herself studying him, looking for a familiar smirk or cheeky grin. She had to laugh at herself. He had said he knew her, and reason stated that she knew him too. He wouldn’t be a random stranger on the street.

"Here kitty, kitty." She muttered to herself. No sooner had the words left her mouth than a black hand reached out of the ally she was passing and grabbed her hand, yanking her into the ally. 

The surprise of it wore off quickly and before the attacker could do anything else, she was twisting and then flipping them over her shoulder and slamming them to the ground as hard as she could manage. She was about to dash back out into the street when a familiar choked laugh reached her. She turned to see that her attacker was none other than Chat Noir.

"I guess it wasn't such a good idea to sneak up on Ladybug, huh?" His words were a little breathless as he rose to his feet, holding his ribs. "I deserved that one, but to be fair, you were calling me."

"Chat! Are you alright? I didn't crack a rib or anything, right?" She rushed over and started gently poking at his ribs, trying to test for tenderness. He took her hands in his and brought them both up to his face to place sweet kisses on each hand. 

"You just knocked the breathe out of me, which is no more than I deserve for thinking it was a smart idea to sneak up on _the_ Marinette Dupain-Cheng." He grinned down at her and it was the grin she has been looking for all morning. She felt her shoulders relax and a matching grin settle on her lips. She freed one of her hands and reached up to ruffle his already messy hair. 

"Did you need something, Kitty, or did you just decide to harass me on a whim." The laughter in her voice belied the sting her words suggested. His grin grew wider as he pulled her deeper into the ally. He only stopped when he was sure someone passing by wouldn't see them. Then he leaned against the wall between her and the entrance, blocking her from sight even further.

"I wanted to see you. I want just a bit more time for it to be just us before you find me out. Right now, it's just you and me, tomorrow it could be the rest of Paris. I'm... a bit nervous for you to find me." He admitted. He reached out and tucked a piece of hair that had fallen out of her usual pigtails behind her ear, being careful to keep his claws out of the way. Marinette stepped in closer a cupped his face in her hands. She pulled him down into a short kiss before leaning back again.

"Even if the whole world knew, it would still be you and me, Ladybug and Chat Noir."

Chat Noir pulled her back in, wrapping his arms around her waist before kissing her for much longer and with more heat. He kissed her as if to sear this moment in his memory, and she kissed him back with the same want.

_No matter what else changes, nothing can touch this._

 

He eventually left her with flushed cheeks and slightly disheveled hair. She tried to smooth out her appearance as she walked into the ice cream parlor with very little success. A shout alerted her to her friend's presence a few tables away.

"Mari! We're over here!" She turned to see Alya and Nino next to each other on one side of a table waving madly. She took a step toward them when the other person at the table turned to look at her and she froze.

It was Adrien, but not. He was wearing dark jeans and T-shirt with a black leather motorcycle jacket with green detailing over it. His hair was not gelled into his usual neat style, but almost spiked and intentionally mussed. It was hanging over a little into his green eyes, which were fixed on her face. He was smiling, no smirking. The look was so familiar, she almost fell over. If hadn't already been hit with the truth, his words would have sealed off any doubts.

"Hey Mari, you're looking paw-sitively meow-volous."

Marinette could hear Alya and Nino cracking up as her face filled with heat. She didn't wait to see what else he would say. She spun on her heels and walked straight back out of the shop. She could hear some cursing and the sound of someone following her and calling her name. She continued walking until she found a bench and sat down. Her pursuer caught up with her then.

Adrien stood in front of the bench looking down at her looking unsure. He looked the same. Same clothes, same hair, same eyes, but the smirk was gone, replaced by worry and concern.

"Mari?"

"Three years." Marinette said without looking up. Adrien shifted a little on his feet.

"I've known both of you for three years. Three years! I never even suspected! You're just so...! And he's just..! How could I have missed....? And the puns! You're _horrible_ with puns! And..." She finally looked up at him and the look was pure Ladybug righteous fury. Adrien took step back, afraid he was going to get hit. "Adrien Agreste, you get over here right now and kiss me."

"W-what?" He looked so bewildered and slightly terrified that it softened her some. She stood up and held out her hand to him. 

"Adrien Agreste, Chat Noir, I would like you to come over here and kiss me." She watched as the confusion was replaced with glee and he rushed over. He swept her off her feet in a hug. She laughed and placed a kiss on his forehead. He finally set her down and then he kissed her like he had in the ally, but this time there were people present.

They only registered the click of Alya's camera after they had already separated. They both turned to see her practically bouncing in place with her camera poised to take more pictures and Nino beside her looking giddy.

"You two have so much explaining to do."

 

"I have something for you." Adrien said. Marinette was sitting between his legs and leaning her back on him as they both sat on her bed watching a movie. She tipped her head up so that the top of her head was brushing around his collar bone. He couldn't help awkwardly leaning down to kiss her nose. She giggled and scrunched her nose at him. Alya called them, "the worst case of shameless PDA that she has ever seen." She wasn't wrong, they were ridiculously affectionate pretty much all the time. After they had explained that they had started dating through an online dating service, unaware of who the other was, Alya had been over the moon to see her friends happy and together. The lie had been spontaneous and a tad feeble, but Alya hadn't seemed to notice.

"Why?" Marinette's voice brought him back from his train of thought. He reached into his pocket and brought out the small box.

"I saw it the other day and thought of you. Besides, you know I really don't need a reason." She rolled her eyes before sitting up and spinning around to face him. He handed her the box with a grin. She took it and pulled off the lid. Inside, there was a necklace with a three-star constellation it. The stars were each represented by a gem. Marinette lifted it from the box and immediately put it on. The admired it for a moment before looking up at him.

"Thank you! It's so pretty! But why stars?"

"That is the constellation named Orion's Belt. We finally found it, my lady." Her eyes lit up and she threw her arms around his neck. He laughed and hugged her back. They went back to their movie not long after, and when Sabine came in an hour later to find them cuddling and asleep, she didn’t have the heart to wake them up. Even teen super hero’s could use some time to themselves, and who as she to deny them.


End file.
